The Week in News
The indictment of the Trump Org and its CFO Allen Weisselberg is our big story this week. Just how bad is it for Trump?
It’s hard not to think of the indictment of the Trump Organization, and its Chief Financial Officer, Allen Weisselberg, as the big story of the week.
While a lot of the legal experts were expecting to be underwhelmed by the charges, the opposite occurred. Weisselberg was hit with 15 felony counts, accusing him, and Trump’s business, of a 15-year campaign to defraud the US government of over a million dollars. The legal eagles on TV say this is a big deal. For three reasons:
If the prosecutors can prove their case, Weisselberg could face a maximum of 15 seven-year sentences.
The fact that this was, allegedly, going on for 15 years means it wasn’t just an oversight. It would be intentional tax fraud.
Because the charges are more significant than anticipated, there’s even more pressure on Weisselberg to turn on Trump, which is what the prosecutors have wanted all along. Does anyone think that, if the allegations are true, Weisselberg is the only one to benefit off-the-books from Trump’s largesse? What about the kids?
There is a lot of Trump debt coming due between now and 2024 — to the tune of least one billion dollars. It’s possible that the indictment could give a lender cause to call in the loan immediately — according to Politico, “sizable loans often include clauses saying the lender can demand full and immediate repayment if the borrower is indicted” — and it could give the government cause to revoke a business license, such as the one the Trump Hotel has in DC.
As for Weisselberg, he’s been with Trump forever, so he could be quite loyal to Trump. But the question is why? Trump is a transactional guy. He’d probably knife his mother if it got him a better interest rate on a deal. And doubtless he’d throw Weisselberg overboard in a New York minute if it suited him, so what possible reason could Weisselberg have keeping mum and risking jail for Trump? It’s not like Trump can pardon him.
Quick takes
Republicans are bragging that Osama bin Laden’s niece supports Trump, and thinks the election was stolen from him. I just can’t.
Horrifying mudslide in Japan today.
Merrick Garland has put a moratorium on all federal executions.
General Hayden ripped GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy for promoting a false conspiracy theory created by Tucker Carlson:
Some cops have come up with an ingenious way to stop people from posting videos of them on social media.
A new book says that Trump’s HHS Secretary, Alex Azar, called Trump in January, 2020 at Mar-a-Lago to tell him that this Covid thing was going to be a huge problem. Trump simply said “oh, okay,” and hung up on him.
Republican members of Congress including loony tunes Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, palled around with at the US-Mexico border this week with one of the Capitol insurrectionists.
Team Trump launched a new social media platform whose name sounds like it’s devoted to sexually harassing women:
Trump openly-embraced the insurrectionists this week by issuing a one sentence press statement asking “Who killed Ashli Babbitt?” You’ll recall that Babbitt is the woman who was shot and killed by security at the US Capitol building after she climbed through a window over a secure door, behind which scores of members of Congress were under protection. There’s a growing movement on the far-right — meaning, the mainstream GOP — to label Babbitt some kind of hero. She wasn’t. The hero was the guy who shot her, and all the rest who risked their lives that day for our democracy. But what Trump is doing is incredibly dangerous. He’s feeding the notion that our government killed her, and that she’s a martyr. That’s a recipe for even more terrorism.
Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction was overturned, and the ruling was probably just. Here’s why.
Star Trek’s William Shatner (Captain Kirk) will be doing a new show on the anti-American Russian state propaganda network, RT. Fans are not amused.
A survey of historians conducted every year by C-Span found Trump ranked as nearly the worst president ever. Trump was ranked 41 out of 44 — beating out Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan. Obama was ranked 10. And Lincoln first. (Biden wasn’t ranked as his term is ongoing.)
A few more visuals
The Gulf of Mexico was on fire yesterday after a gas pipeline sprung a leak:
Marc Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral (as written by Shakespeare), performed by Damian Lewis. Just amazing:
My dog remains adorable:
Okey-dokey. I’m off to catch up on more reruns of Voyager. Enjoy the holiday weekend if you’re here in America. See you all next week.
JOHN